I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Chelsea. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Chelsea - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Chelsea both have about 50 years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Chelsea. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Chelsea with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Chelsea can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Chelsea levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Chelsea.

If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Chelsea leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £500000 flat in Chelsea next week. The freeholder has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Chelsea?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Chelsea conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Chelsea
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Chelsea leasehold property is £350. For Chelsea conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in negotiating a lease extension in Chelsea. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Chelsea conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Chelsea property is 150A Albert Palace Mansions Lurline Gardens in July 2013. The Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the new lease of the subject property was £42,069 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 57.06 years.

What makes a Chelsea lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Chelsea. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Chelsea